Team
ARTIST / ARTISTIC DIRECTOR: MARGHERITA GRAMEGNA
Margherita Gramegna is an Italian artist filmmaker based in Rochester, Kent. In 2006, she won first prize (the Eye) at the Emergendsee Festival (across Berlin, Budapest, London). Since then, her film work has been shown in the UK and Europe (Whitechapel Gallery, Southbank Queen Elizabeth Hall; Raindance and Eat Our Shorts Festivals, London; Cannes 60th SFC; Loop Festival, Barcelona and Zlin Festival, Czech Republic). In 2019 she was invited to take part in a collaborative artist residency at Fondazione Bevilaqua La Masa, with a short film exhibited at Palazzetto Tito, Venice.
As the founder and Artistic Director of 51zero, she has lead festivals, collaborative initiatives and partnerships for the organisation with a focus on international cultural exchange, including Medway and Valenciennes International Relations’ Programmes and European initiatives in Northern France. These projects have received significant recognition and awards (Recreate, ICR, a-n, and Arts Council England). She was nominated for the Rouse Kent Award for her public art commission Artists Don’t Bite with public art consultants Francis Knight for Art at the Centre in partnership with Maidstone Borough Council.
Through her involvement with the founding of Creative Medway Cultural Compact, the Intra Community Trust and with the Medway Cultural Partnership, she has worked continuously, over many years to raise the profile of Medway as a place for contemporary art and artists to thrive.
Margherita assembles freelance teams on a project by project basis. The team for the current 51zero/MAPP Medway Superstars project include:
ASSOCIATE PRODUCER: FIONA WATT
Fiona Watt is a freelance scenographer, part-time lecturer and sector advocate. She has based her practice in studios in Medway since 2004, developing commissioned projects nationally and internationally in her field as well as delivering European funded community projects locally. This sits alongside her work as an associate and guest lecturer for a variety of undergraduate courses in Design for Performance throughout the country.
From 2014 – 2021, Fiona occupied roles as Honorary Secretary and subsequently Chair of the Society of British Theatre Designers.
In 2019 she curated Staging Places: UK Design for Performance which represented the UK at the Prague Quadrennial before taking up a nine month residency at the V&A, London. In 2021 she was appointed as the inaugural Chair for the Creative Medway Cultural Compact, part of a new national place-focused initiative supported by Arts Council England to situate the creative and cultural sector at the heart of local decision-making. Since completing her term of office in October 2023, Fiona continues to advocate for the value of the creative sector locally, regionally and nationally.